The Pharcyde Recall Their “Bizarre Ride” 20 Years Later

“Oh that was a joke. (Room Laughs) I, Fat Lip, do NOT have Herpes… definitely! I was just buggin out.”-Fat Lip of The Pharcyde

In 1992 four brothers out of California decided to make a Hip-Hop album. More than two decades after its November 24, 1992 release date The Pharcyde’s “Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde” is recognized and celebrated as an album that helped define the golden age of Hip-Hop. Containing analog-era classics like “Passing Me By” and “Ya Mama” the smokey, comedic delivery was a counterpoint to rugged and aggressive sounds coming out of the left coast at the time.

While on tour to celebrate their twenty-year milestone, three of the original members, Fat Lip, Slim Kid3 and J-Swift took time out to talk to TheUrbanDaily.com about sampling Quincy Jones, cocaine addiction, STDs and the creation of a classic. Buckle your seat belt.

TUD: What does it mean for you guys to have an album that’s considered classic?

Fat Lip: It means a lot and it feels surreal. I never thought it would be looked at like that because it was something we did because we loved Hip-Hop so much. We started out as fans, then we wanted to get a record deal and then we went on tour with Tribe and De La Soul, our favorite rap groups, and the shit just kept building, it’s unbelievable. And even still to this day, I really just can’t wrap my head around the fact that cats are still f*cking with us. But I love it.

How long did it take record “The Bizarre Ride II The Pharcyde?

Slim Kid3: I think it took like nine months and we weren’t even finished. We had this song called “My Man” that didn’t make the album. That was going to make that album, to me take another step up because of just the fun sound to it.

What ever happened to that song?

Jay Swift: We got it. Me and LA Jay actually got together and pulled up the multi track. We all got together for a rehearsal with Tre and Lip and we laid down some vocals on it. I was like ‘should I use it for my solo album?’ but then I thought ‘that’s US.” So I’m thinking it’s gonna pop up on his new Bizarre Ride.
Slim Kid3: I think the only verse we were keeping from the original was Fat Lips because it was sooo zany. I did something new because I didn’t have a verse on it back then. We had a lot of DAT tapes of freestyles over the tracks we were doing at the time. We would always run a DAT and when that DAT was done, we’d throw in a fresh one. We did that throughout the whole day everyday for all the time we were working…

No wonder it took nine months!

Slim Kid3: It’s the process of making the records. You get up on the mic and freestyle and you wait for the blessing to come so you can put it across over music. If we were just to freestyle without capturing it… then damn, that moment, we might not get it.

Fat Lip: Freestyling was a big deal back then. That was a part of the whole West Coast scene that was putting fire in everybody. Freestyle Fellowship was the main cats coming off the dome but coherently and creatively as if they wrote it and planned that shit. So that was a big inspiration for everyone in the city and we did that shit for hours, at the end of our recording process, when they finally said “look, you gotta finish this record” we just went in to those DATS that we had. Hours and hours, that’s why the record feels like that because most of that shit is spontaneous, even the choruses.

Slim Kid3: “Pack The Pipe” was a complete freestyle situation. I wasn’t there that day so I had to fill in the blanks. But that was a magical moment… that I f*cking missed! I HATE that I missed that day! But what came about was pretty awesome.

J-Swift, you had a very public Cocaine habit. Even almost had a reality show about it. How did you get back on track?
J-Swift: It wasn’t easy. The government forces you into these programs. But the trick is I had to want it. I was in a jail of a different kind because I wasn’t able to make music. I got a computer, a controller, my turntables, and just started to move back into the music. God, my children, my family, my music and my team is what brought me back. It’s a daily struggle I ain’t gonna lie. Like, full disclosure, last September I fell off the wagon and got caught up with a little charge. So I’m back in that program but I’m almost done. And it helps because I don’t know about other drug addicts but I’m the kind of guy that if I have a lot of loose time on my hands then it’s not good. But if I’m busy I don’t even think about it. And I’m blessed because I’m on probation but it’s California and I can smoke weed. (Room laughs) That’s a real plus cause back in the days I couldn’t. And weed is what calms you down, everybody knows cocaine gets you all keyed up and tuned up. And I don’t like prescription drugs because that messes up my creativity and flow. So I thank God that the law is in my favor.

Watch a clip from J-Swift’s “1 More Hit” documentary…

Well score one for the government… go Obama! So on “Soul Flower” Fat Lip closes out the song with a crazy “confession” “…got more flavor than 7-11 slurpees/If Magic can admit he got AIDS, fuck it–i got herpes…”

Fat Lip: Oh that was a joke. (Room Laughs) I, Fat Lip, do NOT have herpes… definitely! I was just buggin out. You know what, actually I thought I did have herpes back then and I was just trying to be crazy. But I definitely do not.

Wait… You thought you had it?
Fat Lip : Well, I’m saying, yeah. I knew someone who had it and then because I knew that person, I thought I had it also.

“Knew” in the biblical sense…
Fat Lip: Exactly
Jay Swift :I think I associated with that person too and then people started telling me…
Fat Lip : It’s not that person…
Jay Swift : It’s not? Oh well…

Damn, lotta folks running round here with the herpes!
Jay Swift: Well it’s crazy cause it was certain females in our circle at that time and I had dealt with one of them and all of a sudden, it was like…
LA Jay:… now WE got it! (Room Laughs)

Moving on to a less controversial topic, the album cover was you guys riding into a vagina…

Slim Kid3:…Because we came out of a vagina! That was the idea behind that!

But I doubt the one you came out of had razors in it like the one you were going into on that cover! Who’s designed that?

Fat Lip: These cats Slick and Den. They had a clothing company back in the day called FUCT. They rocked that shit. I remember the first day we saw it… all cracked out looking in the animation. I didn’t really like that shit at first. I was like “Is that what I look like?” but that shit took the record to another dimension.

I won’t front, it was kind of disturbing for me personally. The idea of flying into a razor filled vagina was like a safe sex ad on steroids for me.

Slim Kid3: I don’t remember razors….
Fat Lip: Nah, he means the roller coaster. Its like, wood so it’s breaking up…

No! When you look inside, it’s got pointed teeth! It’s probably the reason I don’t have kids right now!
Slim Kid3: Wow, we didn’t see that… I think you just brought something to light. We might owe you for that. (Room Laughs)

1993 Hip-Hop Albums

Ok, “Passing Me By” sampled Quincy Jones “Summer In The City.” Have any of you met him? If so, what did he say about the song?

Fat Lip: We was running in that circle man, we all met him at a club…
J Swift: The Roxy! Cause they was all there. LL was there, Quincy was there and they was playing our stuff and then they started playing some blast offs and then I got introduced to Quincy…

What was his reaction to the song?
Slim Kid3: He was mad cool. I know his daughters and he’s always really been really open to the change of music, you know what I mean?
J Swift: He told me he loved the record, he loved what we did… “Great stuff, great stuff. I love it!” Which was really humbling to me because he’s a master. He’s what Dr. Dre is now… back then and still mashing on an even higher level.
Slim Kid3: Just think of how many eras he’s been through. It’s easier to say which ones he hasn’t seen. He’s had his hand in so many things. Especially if you start counting samples? I mean dude… That was a straight up blessing.
Fat Lip: I remember meeting him. We walked up, shook hands and kept it moving. But I feel like just from meeting him, he gave us the blessing on using his sample.
J Swift: Yeah… and then they charged us for it… right after that. (Room Laughs)

R&B singer Joe, ended up sampled “Passing Me By.” How’d you guys feel about that?
Slim Kid3: I felt pretty good about it… cause I was like, Royalties!!! (Laughs)
Fat Lip: It was definitely a nod… like I said before about how our career was taking off and going to different levels? That was definitely one of them. For an R&B singer to take what we did and sample it just put us in a whole other bracket. I wish the royalties situation had been a little tighter but I can’t be mad at nobody.

Slim Kid3: Just to switch it around a bit, I thought it was real cool that he picked “Passing Me By” to sing over, which was one great thing. And then he took Fat Lip’s part, the “My dear, my dear, my dear…” that shows just HUGE appreciation.

Speaking of sampling, Dilla was a big part of your 2nd album. How’d you guys meet?

Slim Kid3: We met Dilla through Q-Tip. We thought Q-Tip was actually JD but he wasn’t. And when we finally met JD he was this short guy from Detroit, always wore his Kangol hat or what have you. But Tip had brought us this cassette tape and on that tape was the loop from “Runnin” and from “Drop” and all that. And we were just sitting at Q-Tip’s apartment listening to all these loops and beats man, and the rest is history. If it wasn’t for Q-Tip, we would have never have met JD or had those beats. We were kind of like the first ones… we branded that sh*t.

Seems other folks have noticed that Q-tip connection. Has anybody in this room heard the “Bizzare Tribe” mash-up album of your lyrics and A Tribe Called Quest beats that was done?

Slim Kid3: I thought it was a good attempt to make something fresh. I like people being creative with things they love and it just so happens to be our sh*t, which gives music more legs.